Two Sons
Children's sermon
Object: This message will include a simple role-play activity.
Note: For the role-play, pick three children you believe can have some fun with their roles. You can read their parts for them, or for more fun, feed them their lines and have them repeat them. A little over-acting by the two sons makes it more memorable.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!
But, before I tell you the story, I have a question for you. Have you ever been confused about what you think God wants you to do? (Let them respond.) Maybe you see someone who needs help, and you aren’t sure what to do. Some people say you should help that person, and some other people say you should just stay away from that person and not help them. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.) It really can be confusing and hard to figure out what God wants us to do, can’t it? (Let them respond.) Our story today is about a day when people got really confused like that, and Jesus decided to help them understand what God wanted them to do.
Jesus and his friends came to the city of Jerusalem and when they went to the temple a big crowd of people came to see them. Jesus was talking with them about God when some of the religious leaders came to talk to him. They said to him, “Who said you could come in here and say the things you are saying? Just who do you think you are, anyway?”
The priests and elders were like the Pharisees. They believed there were a whole bunch of rules that people had to follow if they wanted God to love them. They didn’t like Jesus telling people that God loved all of them even if they didn’t follow all of those old rules. They wanted to make Jesus stop talking, but they were afraid the people might get upset and cause trouble. So, the priests started asking Jesus a bunch of questions to try and get him to say something that might make him stop.
The people were getting confused and weren’t sure who they should believe. They were wondering, “Who is really telling us what God wants us to do? Who do we believe? The priests and elders, or Jesus?”
When Jesus saw how confused everyone was, he looked at the priests and said, “Let me tell you a story.” And this is the story he told:
Once there was a man who had two sons. (Pick the three children to play the roles and have them stand.) One day, the man said to the first son, “Son, I need you to go and pull weeds in the garden today.”
The first son said, “The garden? Aw, gee. I don’t want to work in the garden. It’s too hot today.” The first son went over and sat in the shade of a big tree. (Have the actor pretend to sit under a tree and relax.)
Then the man said to his second son, “Son, I need you to go and pull weeds in the garden today.”
The second son said, “You bet, dad! You can count on me! I’ll do it.” The second son went over to the garden. (Have the actor pretend to stand in the garden.)
Then the father left.
The second son looked around the garden for a minute, then sat down under a tree, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and spent the entire day playing games. (Have the second son do that.)
The first son sat under the tree for a minute, then decided to get up and go to the garden and started pulling weeds. (Have the first son do that.)
(Have the actors sit back down with the rest of the group.)
Jesus looked at the crowd and said, “Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first son did.”
Then Jesus looked at the priests and elders and said, “And that’s what I am doing. John the Baptist told you that God wants us to take care of each other. And, you have seen me heal people who are sick and give sight to those who are blind. But what do you do? You say that you want to do what God wants, but you ignore the sick and the blind, and only help people who are just like you. You ignore what God wants you to do and just do what you want to do. I tell you the tax collectors and homeless do more of God’s work than you people do.”
How do you think that made the priests and elders feel? (Let them respond). It made them really angry, didn’t it? (Let them respond.) But the people weren’t confused anymore. Jesus helped them understand that God believed that taking care of each other was more important than making people follow a bunch of old rules.
I hope we can remember that the next time we feel confused about what God wants us to do. More than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
Note: For the role-play, pick three children you believe can have some fun with their roles. You can read their parts for them, or for more fun, feed them their lines and have them repeat them. A little over-acting by the two sons makes it more memorable.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!
But, before I tell you the story, I have a question for you. Have you ever been confused about what you think God wants you to do? (Let them respond.) Maybe you see someone who needs help, and you aren’t sure what to do. Some people say you should help that person, and some other people say you should just stay away from that person and not help them. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.) It really can be confusing and hard to figure out what God wants us to do, can’t it? (Let them respond.) Our story today is about a day when people got really confused like that, and Jesus decided to help them understand what God wanted them to do.
Jesus and his friends came to the city of Jerusalem and when they went to the temple a big crowd of people came to see them. Jesus was talking with them about God when some of the religious leaders came to talk to him. They said to him, “Who said you could come in here and say the things you are saying? Just who do you think you are, anyway?”
The priests and elders were like the Pharisees. They believed there were a whole bunch of rules that people had to follow if they wanted God to love them. They didn’t like Jesus telling people that God loved all of them even if they didn’t follow all of those old rules. They wanted to make Jesus stop talking, but they were afraid the people might get upset and cause trouble. So, the priests started asking Jesus a bunch of questions to try and get him to say something that might make him stop.
The people were getting confused and weren’t sure who they should believe. They were wondering, “Who is really telling us what God wants us to do? Who do we believe? The priests and elders, or Jesus?”
When Jesus saw how confused everyone was, he looked at the priests and said, “Let me tell you a story.” And this is the story he told:
Once there was a man who had two sons. (Pick the three children to play the roles and have them stand.) One day, the man said to the first son, “Son, I need you to go and pull weeds in the garden today.”
The first son said, “The garden? Aw, gee. I don’t want to work in the garden. It’s too hot today.” The first son went over and sat in the shade of a big tree. (Have the actor pretend to sit under a tree and relax.)
Then the man said to his second son, “Son, I need you to go and pull weeds in the garden today.”
The second son said, “You bet, dad! You can count on me! I’ll do it.” The second son went over to the garden. (Have the actor pretend to stand in the garden.)
Then the father left.
The second son looked around the garden for a minute, then sat down under a tree, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and spent the entire day playing games. (Have the second son do that.)
The first son sat under the tree for a minute, then decided to get up and go to the garden and started pulling weeds. (Have the first son do that.)
(Have the actors sit back down with the rest of the group.)
Jesus looked at the crowd and said, “Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?” They answered, “The first son did.”
Then Jesus looked at the priests and elders and said, “And that’s what I am doing. John the Baptist told you that God wants us to take care of each other. And, you have seen me heal people who are sick and give sight to those who are blind. But what do you do? You say that you want to do what God wants, but you ignore the sick and the blind, and only help people who are just like you. You ignore what God wants you to do and just do what you want to do. I tell you the tax collectors and homeless do more of God’s work than you people do.”
How do you think that made the priests and elders feel? (Let them respond). It made them really angry, didn’t it? (Let them respond.) But the people weren’t confused anymore. Jesus helped them understand that God believed that taking care of each other was more important than making people follow a bunch of old rules.
I hope we can remember that the next time we feel confused about what God wants us to do. More than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other.
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
